Preamble Good evening everyone. Well, this promises to be as intriguing as a late-period Poirot mystery. A fortnight ago, two late Schalke goals toppled Arsenal off the top of Group B and sent them into a messy tailspin. Tonight, for the good of their Champions League prospects, they really need to get something from the Veltins Arena. The form book is particularly mixed: Arsenal have lost eight of their last 13 away games in Europe, which doesn't bode well. However while Schalke have won 21 of their last 29 games at home, their record against Germany's top three in the last five years is played 12, won one, drawn two, lost nine.

Team news: No Andre Santos for Arsenal. And Theo Walcott, who was doubtful with a stomach bug, starts.

Apropo of nothing ... In this week's Joy of Six, six of our writers will be proposing their favourite football grounds. Where would I stick the Veltins Arena? Hmm. That's tricky. Certainly not right at the top tier. But for a modern stadium it's better-than-decent. I watched two games there during the 2006 World Cup: the Czech Republic give the US an old-fashioned 3-0 whuppin' and then England's golden generation go out on penalties to Portugal. Both had a cracking atmosphere, although there sure were some messy scenes in Gelsenkirchen that night ...

Incidentally, a quick plug ... for BBC commentator Conor McNamara's You Are What You Eat: Media Grub at Sporting Events blog. The food at tonight's game looks better than average.

We're off! Arsenal, kicking from right to left on my TV screen, get us underway. "Re that Joy of Six, will any of those chosen still stand?" asks Gary Naylor. Don't think so Gary but haven't seen all the choices yet. "Highbury for me." A lovely stadium. Don't think I'm the only one who misses it.

3 min Schalke immediately attack through their right-back Howedes, who probes the sensitive area down Arsenal's left flank. He powers past Podolski and gets his cross in, but the visitor's clear. The Gunners have barely got the ball into Schalke's half yet.

5 min Arsenal finally get their foot on the ball, but Walcott's first foray into the area is blocked off when he could have found Sagna ... and Schalke immediately counterattack! Fuchs bombs forward and Arsenal are grateful to concede a corner ...

6 min ... which comes to nothing. "To be fair to Santos, Gary Neville defended him on Monday Night Football, calmly pointing out that half-time shirt swapping's a not uncommon practice amongst players — it's just that it typically happens in the tunnel where fans can't see," points out SB Tang.

8 min Save from Mannone! Podolski needlessly losses possession and again Schalke storm forward. This time it's Afellay who jinks down the left before directing his eyes goalward: Mannone's wrist needed to be strong there to save his skidding shot.

10 min Schalke are still having the better of this. Meanwhile Olympiakos are 1-0 up over Montpellier. "Did Connor McNamara use the 70s Instagram filter?" splutters Mister Justin, wiping Monster Munch crumbs off his shirt. "Because the colors just...ugh. Totally ruins it."

12 min Another Schalke corner ... and Howedes' header from eight yards out loops over the bar and bobbles on the netting. Arsenal have not turned up so far. They seem desperately short of confidence.

14 min Uchida diddles Vermaelan like a Santos, but just when he should be stabbing his cross into the box he overruns it. A let off for Arsenal.

16 min A quarter-chance for Arsenal from a corner, as Cazorla spots that Wiltshire's run hasn't been picked up. But he's picked up just in time.

GOAL! Schalke 0-1 Arsenal (Walcott 18) Well, I didn't see that coming. Mertesacker thumps an aimless long ball forward, but instead of heading it clear Neustadter backflicks into Giroud's path. The Frenchman has a one-on-one but he dawdles into the box and is tackled. Luckily for Arsenal, Walcott is following up and scoops the loose ball over defender and keeper before tapping it home.

20 min Cue chants of "1-0 to the Arsenal." Can the Gunners build on that?

21 min Well, they very nearly do! Alas a cross from Poldolski is met by a scrambled egg of a volley from Walcott and is cleared. Incidentally, Cazorla has just seen yellow for diving on the floor to stop a pass with his hand. Very strange.

25 min Schalke have made a sub: Hoger replacing the injured Uchidah, who had been very lively.

GOAL! Schalke 0-2 Arsenal (Giroud 26) Incredible scenes as Arsenal double their lead! After a messy build-up, the ball squirms out to Poldolski on the left, who promptly falls over. But he picks himself up, swivels, and sends in a superb cross for the completely unmarked Giroud, who scores with a diving header from eight yards.

28 min Bloody hell. Arsenal were so nervous for the first 15 minutes. Now look.

30 min Good defending by Sagna after Podolski gifts it away too easily. Arsenal have to remain watchful here. "Re: stadiums. Do they have to be liked for sporting reasons?" asks Ryan Dunne. Not necessarily, Ryan. "The modern Hampden doesn't always host the grandest of games or atmospheres (especially as the Glorious Glasgow Rangers are no longer currently challenging for major Scottish honours) but I had a great time seeing U2 and Bruce Springsteen there. Fitba wise, I've never been myself, but I gather Gayfield Park (five feet from the sea!) has some impressively windblown atmospheres.

32 min Walcott attempts to beat his man, but again he is tackled. Apart from that one marvelous moment tonight for his goal, most of his tricks haven't come off. But you suspect that won't matter if Arsenal win: the narrative will have already been written.

34 min Arsene Wenger is looking concerned on the bench and with good reason: Giroud looks to have tweaked his hamstring going up for an aerial challenge with Jones. He's currently getting treatment.

36 min Good news for Arsenal: Giroud is back on, gangling around. I think he's OK.

40 min So close! Farfan turns Vermaelan inside out and heads towards goal. There's no pressure on the ball and he should have done better than swerve his shot wide by about six inches.

42 min An awful studs-into-shins challenge by Fuchs on Walcott earns a deserved yellow card. The Austrian isn't happy with that. Not sure why, in truth. That was a leg-bruiser if ever I saw one.

44 min The substitute Holger, a natural midfielder, is really struggling to deal with Podolski on the left. After failing to tackle him he resorts to a behind-the-back cuddle, and concedes a foul for his troubles. The free-kick is cleared, however ...

45 min We'll have two minutes of injury time. Schalke are looking dangerous. "London Road, home of Pembroke Boro (Pembrokeshire League, Division 3)," suggests Matt Dony with reference to his favourite ground. "It might not be a 'stadium' with 'atmosphere' and 'fans' and all that, but my parents garden backs up to the boundary, and I spent many formative Saturday afternoons learning the finer points of defending from hung-over 17 stone eejits. So many happy memories."

GOAL! Schalke 1-2 Arsenal (Huntelaar 45+2) With just seconds to go before half-time, Cazorla slips, conceding possession. With Arsenal players steaming forward there are gaps to exploit, and that's exactly what Schalke do. Huntelaar still has a fair bit to do when he is played in by Lewis Holtby's excellent foot-high pass, but his shot is straight and true and flies past Mannone. Game on.

Half-time See you in 15 minutes ...

We're off again Can Arsenal hold on? Meanwhile this from SB Tang: "Holtby's half-Scouse and a young, European-class number 10 who slots in perfectly in the bank of three in a 4-2-3-1. How hard did the FA work to convince him to play for his father's country?"

48 min Chance! Cazorla slips in Podolski, who is bombing down the left, and his cross finds Giroud at the back post. It's a decent opportunity, but Giroud's extravagant YouTube volley hits the ground and bounces over the bar.

52 min What a save by Mannone! Or rather: what a huge miss by Huntelaar! The Dutch striker was clean through - where was Mertesacker? - but smashed it straight at Arsenal's keeper.

54 min This is very open. It's like Arsenal don't trust themselves not to concede another goal, and are going for a third. "If the LFC shirts are anything to go by this is how you remember your favourite stadium. By getting gravy all down it," says Ian Copestake.

56 min It's all Schalke now. Only a desperate block by Arteta deflects one shot for a corner but the Germans can scent an equaliser. From the resulting corner the ball ping-pongs around the box - there's an appeal for handball in their somewhere - before, after what seems like an age, Arsenal get it away.

60 min Arsenal are sitting deeper now, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Schalke could yet over-press, and Walcott has plenty of space down the right. Now can Arsenal find him?

61 min Another appeal for handball from Schalke's ninth corner! Think it was Koscielny. Immediately Schalke get a tenth corner from which Neustadter heads wide. Surely there will be more goals here?

63 min Arsenal's players are furious after Hoger trips over his own laces and the referee blows up with Podolski in the clear. He thrashes the ball into the Uefa advertising hoards and then gives the referee some sharp words. Result? Yellow card. In fairness to Podolski, I have no idea why that was called back. Did the referee really believe Hoger had a head injury?

64 min Chance for Schalke! Holtby is given space to roam and threaten - and his 25-yard skimmer is deflected and needs to be pushed out by Mannone. Fortunately for Arsenal the ball evades the prowling Hunterlaar by inches.

GOAL! Schalke 2-2 Arsenal (Farfan 67) That was coming! A deep cross skims off Holtby's head and falls to Jefferson Farfan, whose shot is deflected in by Vermaelan.

68 min Schalke continue to press. Can Arsenal hang on?

70 min Dear oh dear. Mertesacker hasn't had a great night and he just slips under no pressure there - what studs are the Arsenal players wearing?! - thus giving Holtby a great chance to play a killer pass to Huntelaar. It's overhit, though, and Arsenal breathe again.

72 min Cazorla leans back and lifts his shot over the Schalke bar. "I've been waiting patiently for Schalke's substitute goalkeeper to come on and then score direct from a goal kick so that I can shoehorn a reference to that obscure Ian Fleming short story 'The Hildebrand Rarity' into the MBM," says Simon McMahon. "It's not going to happen, is it?" Afraid not, Simon ...

73 min It's Olympiakos 1-1 Montpellier in the other game in Group B.

75 min Walcott hits the post! Koscielny slipped him in - ah, wait one second - as Walcott shot it across goal the linesman raised his flag.

77 min Both sides are still going for this. "I've always thought that Wenger should try some Mancini tactics to see this sort of games out," says Josh in Miami. "Koscienly and Vermaelen have some clownish errors in them and only seem to function well when either is paired with Mertesacker. If say he tossed on Jenkinson for Giroud and went for a counter-attacking 3-5-2/5-3-2 with Podolski and Walcott up top, we might be more solid. Gibbs would be best but I bet even Santos could do a job as a left wingback in such a system." Hmm ...

79 min A lull before the final storm.

81 min Manone makes another straightforward save. Incidentally, Olymiakos have taken the lead - as things stand, Schalke have eight points, Arsenal seven and Olympiakos six. And Arsenal travel to Greece in their final group game.

83 min It's now Olympiakos 3-1 Montpellier. Meanwhile there's a delay in play as Arteta and Jones receive treatment after tangling into each other.

84 min Jones has been lively down Schalke's right flank all night and his pinpoint cross was nearly nodded in by Huntelaar, who was offside.

86 min Vermaelen puts in a crunching challenge on Jones but comes off worse. He hobbles off to loud whistles, and Arsenal are temporarily a man down. Can Jones take advantage? No ... he whacks it over the bar.

87 min Vermaelen is back on but Schalke are still probing ... but without quite the intensity of earlier. You sense they wouldn't be too unhappy with a point here.

89 min Mannone, who has been accomplished tonight, punches a dangerous-looking cross clear.

90+3 min Arsenal suddenly get on the ball and just when Coquelin is about to chest down Giroud's pass he is barged over in the box. Arsenal players appeal for a penalty; the referee scornfully tells Coquelin to get up.

90+4 min Schalke sub: the excellent Holtby off, Barnetta on. Will there be a late-late-late-goal?

FULL-TIME There so nearly was! Walcott held off Matip and had a clear sight of goal. But his meek, dribbly effort hit Unnerstall legs. What a chance that was. Still, a win would have flattered Arsenal. The Gunners remain second in their group, but Olympiakos are on their tails. Thanks for all your emails. Best, Sean